Casing for player-pianos.



C. R. TERRY &B. F. MONEY.

CASING FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIZ. 1913.

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ATT RNEYS C. R. TERRY & B. F. MONEY. CASING FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIZ, m3.

1,1 61,360. Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

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' C. R. TERRY & B. MONEY.

CASING FOR PLAYER PIANOS. APPLICATION FILED JULYIZ. 1913.

Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

M 1 mm H B C BE MONEY ag/5Z1 ORNEYS UNITED STA'igE ilz' llENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. TERRY AND BENJAMIN F. MONEY, OF DALLAS, TEXAS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE- THIRD TO B. W. GRATIGNY, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

CASING FOR PLAYER-PIANOS.

Application filed July 12, 1913.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES R. TERRY and BENJAMIN F. MONEY, citizens of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casings for Player-Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in piano casings and more particularly to casings for player pianos.

The object of the invention is to Provide improved means whereby at a single operation the operator may open the panels of the tracker box, raise the treadle door, swing the treadles outward into operative position, and open the expression lever housing; and also by a reverse operation may return the parts to their normal position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operating lever and a particular form of operating mechanism including a novel gearing and actuating devices operated by and in conjunction with the gearing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that will be strong, durable, efiicient and simple and comparatively inexpensive to produce, also one in which the several parts will not be likely to get out of working order.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention has relation to certain novel features of construction and operation, an example of which is described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of a piano equipped with this invention, portions of the casing being omitted to show underlying construction, Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line YY of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross sectional view on the line XX of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line ZZ of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is an under side detail of the gearing and component parts, Fig. 6 is a detail of the treadle door operating means, Fig. 7 is a sectional detail on the line aa of Fig. 3,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

Serial No. 778,751.

and Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are details of the gearing.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the front board of a piano casing, 52 the key bed, and 3 the front panel. In player pianos it is customary to conceal the player mechanism within the casing and to expose the operating portions through openings having movable closures. It is also customary to provide a housing for covering the expression levers on the key board, set housing being arranged to be swung outward when it is desired to expose the levers for manipulation; and to arrange the treadles whereby they are normally within the casing but may be swung outward for operation.

It is the object of this invention to provide a lever which when swung will open the closures, swing the lever housing outward, and also swing the treadle outward into operative position. i

As illustrating the invention I have shown a rock shaft 4 mounted in bearings 5 de pending from the underside of the key bed 2 transversely thereof as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The forward end of the rock shaft terminates near the front side of the key bed and a laterally directed hand lever 6 is formed integral on the forward end of the shaft and is disposed under the key bed within easy reach of the operator. Referring to Fig. 1 this lever normally lies horizontally toward the right hand side of the casing and is swung to the left to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 7 to carry out the opening operation, and is returned to perform the closing operation.

As shown in Fig. 7, a lug 7 is fixed on the shaft 1 and normally has one of its fiat sides impinging a flat spring 8 secured to the bed 2 which is recessed above the spring to permit it to yield when the lug is swung. As shown in Fig. 7 the flat sides of the lug and spring act to hold the lever in position at either end of its stroke. At the lower central portion of the foot panel a rectangular opening 9 is provided. At each side of the opening vertical guide channels 10 are fixed to the inner surface of the board 3. Be-

tween these channels a treadle door 11 is arranged to slide vertically and has laterally directed shoes 12 at each side engaging in. the guideways of the channels as shown in Fig. 1. Sn one of the guide ways within the piano casing a bell-crank lever is pivoted. This lever has a short arm 14 and a long arm 15. A link 16 has its upper end pivoted to the outer end of the arm 15 and its lower end pivoted to the inner side of the door 11. It will be apparent that when the bell-crank lever is swung the door will be raised and lowered, the lowered position being indicated in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 4 the arm 14 is directed upward and from the end of this arm a pivoted link 17 extends to the right and has pivoted connection with the lower end of an arm 18. The arm 18 has its upper end pivoted to the rear side of a block 19 depending from the key bed 2 as shown in Fig. 2. As shown in 6 an arm 20 is fixed on the shaft i intermediate its ends. On one side of the shaft a pin 21 projects forwardly from the arm 20 as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. vVhen the door 11 is in its lower or closed position the parts occupy the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6 and in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Pin 21. normally rests in a pocket 22 in the link 18 adjacent the upper pivot point. Vhen the arm 20 is swung by the rotation of the shaft 4 through the agency of the lever 6, the pin 21 swings the arm 18 downward to the position shown in Fig. 4, at which point the pin 21 is carried out of the pocket and ceases to swing the arm 18, the door 11 having come to rest at the end of its upward movement. The door is raised by the swinging of the bell-crank through the agency of the links 17 and arm 18. A coil spring 23 has one end fixed to the left hand channel 10 (Fig. 4) and its other end attached to the link 18 below the center thereof. This spring assists in swinging the link 18 downward and thus relieves the operator from part of the load incidental to raising the door, and the spring further acts to retain the parts in the open position. The door 11 is opened by swinging the lever 6 about one-third of its stroke. the remainder of the stroke being employed to operate other mechanism.

1V ithin the piano casing on the bottom board 2 1 thereof a treadle mechanism is mounted and arranged to be swung outward in front of the panel 3. The trea dle mechanism comprises a support 25 on which a pair of treadles 26 are hinged at their lower ends and have suitable connection with the player mechanism (not shown) by means of swinging lin ts 27 pivoted to the upper ends of said treadles. An arm 28 is pivoted to the end of the support 25 at each extremity thereof. These arms have their other ends pivoted to the bottom board 2 1 as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. By means of these arms the treadlc mechanism is hinged so that it may be swung into and out of the piano casing through the opening 9.

11 metal supporting frame 29 is fixed on the bottom board 2drelatively between the arms 28. A pair of bearing standards 30 are mounted at one side of the frame and rotatably support a rocker 31 confined therein. A spring 32 is coiled about the rocker between the standards and has one end fastened to the frame 29. A lever arm is fixed on the rocker and has its outer end bifurcated to receive the end of a link 34 which has its opposite end pivoted to the inner side of the support as shown best in 2 and 3. The arm 33 is connected to the link 3% by an eye pin The spring 32 is extended to form a spring arm 36 having its outer end engaged in the ye of the pin 35. It is apparent that by rotating the rocker 31 the treadle mechanism will be swung into and out of the piano casing through the agency of the arm 33 and link The spring 32 will assist in swinging the treadle support outward and will act as a cushion when said support is swung inward.

For operating the rocker means cooperating with the rock shaft 4 is provided. As an illustration a vertical shaft 3'? is shown. This shaft has its lower end journals-d in the frame 29 and its upper end journaled in abearing 38 secured to the under side of the key bed 2. Motion is imparted from the shaft by a miter gear 10 fixed thereon which meshes with a like gear 39 fixed on the adjacent end of the rocker 31. On the inner end of the rock shaft 1 a bevel gear sector a1 is fixed as is in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. This sector is arranged to mesh with a similar mutilated sector 12- fiXed on the shaft 37.

It is obvious that the treadle mechanism cannot be swung outward until the door 11 has been raised and also the treadle mechanism must be swung into the casing before said door is closed. As previously described the door 11. is operated by the arm 18, arm 20 and pin 21. After the rock shaft 1 has been swung a portion of its rotation the pin 21 ride out of the pocket 22 and the arm 18 comes to rest. During this movement the gear sectors are not in mesh and the shaft 37 is idle, but just prior to the end of said movement the gear sector. 4-1 is swung into a gap 43 of the sector 4-2 and rides into contact with a toothed lug 44 on the end of the sec tor 12. The purpose of this is to cause the sectors to properly register so that their teeth will intermesh. The teeth of the gears engage as the pin 21 rides out of the pocke 22 and continued movement of the rock shaft imparts rotation to the shaft 37. A description of the return movement is believed unnecessary as it is obvious that the operation is merely reversed.

In the front board 1 of the piano casing a central opening is arranged to expose the tracker box (not shown) and is closed by a pair of opposed laterally sliding panels 46 mounted in channel rails 47 secured to the inner side of the front board. For sliding these panels from and toward each other to open and close the opening 45, a pair of levers 48 and 49 respectively are pivoted on the upper channel rail 47 on each side of the opening 45 as shown in Fig. 1. Each levers 48 and 49 is associated with one of the panels and has its lower end pivoted to the end of a link 50 which in turn has its opposite end pivoted to the inner side of the adjacent panel. The lever 49 extends above its pivot point and is connected with the end of a lever 51 having its opposite end pivoted to the lever 48 below the pivot point of the latter. In this way thelevers 48 and 49 may be swung in unison toward and from each other thereby sliding the panels.

For operating the levers an off-set bellcrank lever 53 is hinged in a pair of bearing blocks 54 secured to the end wall of the piano casing. The end of a link 52 is pivoted to the upper end of the lever 53 and has its opposite end pivoted to the lever 49 below the pivot point of the same. \Vhen the bell-crank lever 53 is swung the levers 48 and 49 will be swung and the panels closed or opened, the latter position being shown in Fig. 1. For swinging the lever 53 an off-set bell-crank lever 56 is hinged in a pair of bearing blocks 57 mounted on the end wall of the casing just below the key bed 2. The lower end of the lever 56 is pivotally connected with the lower end of the lever 53 by a link 55. Motion is imparted to the lever 56 by a link 58 pivoted to the upper end thereof and extending to the arm 20 of the shaft 4. The end of the link 58 is bent upward at 59 and pivoted on the pin 21 as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The reason for bending the pitman will be obvious by observing Figs. 4 and 6.

A link 60 has one end pivoted to the arm 20 on the opposite side of the shaft 4 with relation to the pin 21. Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 it will be noted that the link 60 is inclined upward through a slot 66 in the key bed 2 and pivoted to the rear end of a bell-crank lever 61 pivoted over the bed 2 and having its opposite end pivotally connected to the inner end of a link 62 projecting through an opening in the piano casing. A link 63 pivotally connects the outer end of the link 62 with a bracket 64 secured on the inside of a housing 65 hinged on the front edge of the key bed 2. This housing is employed to cover theplayer expression levers (not shown) when the latter are not in use. In moving the arm 20 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the link 60 swings the lever 61 so that the links 62 and 63 are moved outward, thereby swinging the housing outward. By reversing the operation the housing will be swung inward.

A general description of the operation will now be given. \Ve will assume that all parts are in the closed position and the hand lever occupies its normal position at the right hand side of the rock shaft 4. The operator desiring to use the player grasps the levers 6 and swings it downward. Motion is immediately imparted to the link 18, link 58 and link 69 by the arm 20 which is swung by the rocking of the shaft 4 through the agency of the lever 6. The arm or lever 18 being swung downward raises the door 11. The link 58 swings the levers 56 and 53 and the links 48 and 49 thereby opening the panels 46. The link 60 swings the bellcrank lever 61 thus opening the housing 65. During the movement of the link 18 motion is not imparted to the shaft 37 and therefore the pedal mechanism is not disturbed. After the lever 6 has been swung about onethird of its stroke the pin 21 rides out of the pocket 22 and ceases to move the link 18. Simultaneously the sectors 41 and 42 are brought into mesh and rotation imparted to the shaft 37 which is rotated during the remainder of the stroke of the lever 6. The rocker 31 is operated by the gears 39 and 40 and with the assistance of the spring 32 swings the treadle support 25 outward through the opening 9 to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4

' the parts are shown in their open position.

When it is desired to close the piano casing and return'the parts to their normal position it is merely necessary to swing the lever to the right to its normal position. This will reverse the operation just described and return the parts to normal. It will be noted that in returning the lever the pin 21 does not engage in the pocket 22 until the treadle mechanism has been swung into the casing.

Vhat we claim, is:

1. The combination with a piano casing having a slidable treadle door, slidable tracker box panels, and a hinged lever housing mounted on the key bed, of a treadle support arranged to be swung into or out of the casing, means for operating the door and the support constructed to slide the door prior to swinging the support, means for sliding the panels, a common operating member rotatably mounted under the key bed, a connection between the operating member to the door and support operating means, a connection extending from the operating member to the panel sliding means, means for swinging the housing, and'a connection between the housing swinging means and the operating member.

2. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slidable door closing said opening, and a treadle support carrying treadles arranged to be swung into and out of the casing through the said opening, of means for sliding the door, means for swinging the treadle support, and an operating device arranged to engage the door operating means to open said door and also to engage the treadle support swinging means, said operating device having means for engaging with and disengaging from the door sliding means prior to its operative connection with the treadle support swinging means.

3. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slidable door closing said opening, and a treadle support carrying treadles arranged to be swung into and out of the casing through the said opening, of means for sliding the door, means for swinging the treadle support, an operating member,means mounted on the operating member to engage with and disengage from the door sliding means during the operation of the member, and an operating device carried by the op- I erating member arranged 'to operate the treadle support swinging means subsequently to the disengagement of the connection from the door sliding means.

4. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slidable door normally covering said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and in position to pass through the opening, an operating member rotatably mounted on the casing, a connection between the operating member and the treadle support, a door sliding device having connection with the door, and a projection carried by the operating member normally in engagement with the door sliding device and arranged to disengage from the latter.

5. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slid-able door normally covering'said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and arranged to pass through the opening, an operating member rotatably mounted on the casing, a door sliding device having connection with the door, a projection on the operating member normally engaging with the door sliding device and constructed to disengage from said device during the rotation of the operating member, a rotatable treadle swinging member connected to the treadle support, and means for establishing connection between the operating member and the rotatable treadle swinging member subsequent to the disengagement of the projection from the door sliding device.

6. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening, and a slidable door normally covering said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and arranged to pass through said opening, a rotatable treadle swinging member connected to the treadle support, a link door raising mechanism comprising a plurality of links connected with the door and having a pivotal point in fixed relation to the casing, an operating link having one end pivoted to the casing and the other end pivoted to the link door raising mechanism,

a rotatable operating member mounted on the casing, an arm mounted on said operating member and carrying a projection arranged to engage with the operating link, said operating link having provision for releasing the engagement of the arm projection therewith, and a connection between the operating member and the treadle swinging member.

7. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening, and aslidable door normally covering said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and arranged to pass through said opening a rotatable treadle swinging member connected to the treadle support, a link door raising mechanism comprising a plurality of links connected with the door and having a pivotal point in fixed relation to the casing, an operating link having one end pivoted to the casing and the other end pivoted to the link door raising mechanism, a rotatable operating member mounted on the casing, an arm mounted on said operat ing member and carrying a projection arranged to engage with the operating link, said operating link having provision for releasing the engagement of the arm projecttion therewith, and a pair of gears mounted on the operating member and the rotatable treadle swinging member in meshing rotation.

8. The combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slidable door normally covering said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and arranged to pass through the opening, a rocker mounted in the bottom of the casing, a connection between the rocker and the treadle support arranged to swing the latter, a vertical shaft, connections between the shaft and the rocker, an operating member mounted on the casing, connections between the member and the shaft, a door sliding device, and a connection between the door sliding device and the operating member.

9. The-combination with a player piano casing having a treadle opening and a slidable door normally covering said opening, of a swinging treadle support mounted in the casing and arranged to pass through the opening, means for swinging the treadle support, an arm pivoted to the casing and connected to the door, a spring connected to one of the arms and secured to the casing, an operating member connected with the treadle swinging means a projection extend- 10 ing from the operating member and having provision for temporarily engaging one of the arms.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

. CHARLES R. TERRY.

BENJAMIN F. MONEY. WVitnesses:

EARLE C. TVIGHT, JACK A. SoHLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

